Farideh Golbabaei

• Ph.D professor
• Professor at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Aim Climate change and global warming have caused concerns about the health of employees. There is evidence that global warming and heat stress threaten the health of mining employees due to the nature of the work. The aim of the present study was to summarize the existing knowledge regarding health effects related to climate change and heat stress...

Introduction: Workers who work in warm situations need clothes with better thermal regulation. Nowadays, improving the thermal regulation properties of cotton fabric by treating it with phase change materials (PCMs) has been considered. The type of fabric plays an important role in providing thermal comfort. Cotton fabric is the most popular raw ma...

Electrospun nanofibers can lower health risks linked to exposure to particulate matter pollutants. On the other hand, nonbiodegradable polymeric materials increase issues related to their disposal and the generation of hazardous microplastics. Hence, this research aims to develop a nanofibrous membrane filter composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as...

The synthesis method of nanomaterials is known as one of the challenges in nanotechnology. In classical methods of synthesis, a chemical substance is used as the reducing agent, provoking safety and environmental concerns. To solve these concerns, nanotechnology is being pushed to the “green” side. In this regard, this research attempts to present...

Introduction: In recent years, exposure to nanomaterials has been known as a challenge among occupational health experts. In this line, personal protective equipment has been considered as a solution to reduce the worker’s exposure. Since respiratory and skin tracts represent the most common workplace exposure routes, knowledge of the efficiency of...

Introduction: Protection of the respiratory system has been a vital, and for this purpose, various solutions have been proposed, including the use of masks. One of the most important parameters to measure the effectiveness of the mask against the penetration of microbial agents. The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the bacteri...

Nanofiber membranes receive considerable interest recently because of their distinctive structural features, facile preparation, as well as high filtering efficiency. Due to ever‐increasing air pollution, membranes made from biodegradable materials can play a crucial part in providing purified air with minimum concerns of environmental issues after...

Herein, the SiO2 nanoparticles were applied to decrease the thermal conductivity of cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers via electrospinning and the oxygen-enriched method. Hence, solutions of CA and CA/SiO2 were made by acetone/dimethylacetamide (2 : 1) with oxygen enriching and Helium gas. The nanofiber’s morphology and chemical structures were stud...

Despite enormous benefits of UV radiation, exposure to it stimulates skin and eye damages. In occupational health sciences, modification of cotton fabrics by biodegradable nanomaterials is a new approach to overcome this problem. So, the aim of this study is to investigate green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles effect on UV-protection for nano-cotton...

Formaldehyde, a known carcinogenic compound, is commonly used in various medical settings. The objective of this study was to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks associated with occupational exposure to formaldehyde. This study was conducted in the pathology labs of four hospitals in Tehran. Cancer and non-cancer risks were evaluated...

Modification of textiles using nanoparticles or submicron particles is known to be an effective approach to improving ultraviolet protection properties. Our published paper titled “Improving ultraviolet protection properties of cotton textiles using Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials: an approach for controlling occupational and environmental exposu...

Abstract This study aimed to determine the short-term effects of ambient temperature variations exposures on the incidence of preterm birth (PTB) for each single lag day (lag0 to lag6) and cumulative lag days (lag0-1 to lag0-6) up to a week before birth. To find relevant publications, online databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus...

Nanomaterials (NMs) have the potential to be hazardous owing to their unique physico-chemical properties. Therefore, the need for Health Risk Assessment (HRA) of NMs is expanding. In this study, a novel HRA was developed by the Pythagorean Fuzzy Health Risk Assessment (PFHRA) approach. Risk is considered to be the outcome of parameters including Oc...

Introduction: The use of antineoplastic drugs in cancer treatment, while essential, poses risks due to their non-selective action on both cancerous and healthy cells. Assessing and controlling environmental contamination with these drugs in workplaces is crucial. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of various commercial wipes in sampling the...

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8) were used to investigate the feasibility of producing electrospun PET/ZIF-8 polymer media in removing particles from the air stream to compare with the HEPA filter. To make PET/ZIF-8 media, concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 wt.% of ZIF-8 were dissolved in PET20% soluti...

Until now, only a few comprehensive studies have validated analytical heat stress indices in different conditions. The present study aims to investigate the validity of these indicators in predicting the physiological parameters of workers. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 194 male employees working in warm environments. First, demogra...

The adsorbent MIL-101, a metal-organic framework material, was synthesized, characterized, and tested for removal of relatively low concentrations of benzene and toluene adsorbates (200 ppm) from a gas phase in a continuous flow system. Breakthrough studies were modeled based on Thomas, Yoon–Nelson, Yan, Clark, Bohart-Adams, bed-depth service time,...

Introduction: Numerous studies have been conducted on the development of modern insulators, including nano-insulators. However, a comprehensive study has yet to be performed to review and investigate the thermal properties of these insulators. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the effect of nanomaterials on thermal insulation function. Mate...

Introduction: Climate change and hot processes in the workplaces has led to an increase in the effects of heat stress on employed people, which has become a major concern, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Early detection of biomarkers in induction of heat stress-related DNA damage can be used in the identification and evaluation of...

Introduction: In recent years, the manufacture of air purification media, especially nanofiber filters using polymeric materials and the electrospinning method, has received much attention in air pollution control. The production of high-performance media and low-pressure drops is an important issue in air filtration. This study aimed to investigat...

Introduction: Toluene is significant pollutants in the air. Long-term exposure to toluene can lead to adverse effects. Biofiltration is one of the air pollutant control methods. In this study, Pseudomonas putida was selected as a microorganism capable of hydrocarbon degradation and its ability to biodegrade toluene in a suspension growth reactor wa...

Acrylonitrile is a potential carcinogen for humans, and exposure to this substance can cause adverse effects for workers. This study aimed to carcinogenic and health risk assessment of acrylonitrile vapor exposure in exposed personnel of a petrochemical complex. This crosssectional study was performed in 2019 in a petrochemical complex. In this stu...

As main air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) must be paid special attention. In this study, the removal efficiency of xylene from the air was investigated by nano-activated carbons (NACs) as an efficient adsorbent and compared to commercial activated carbons (ACs). In the chamber, the xylene vapor in pure air was generated, stored in t...

Thermal stress has a direct effect on various types of DNA damage, which depends on the stage of the cell cycle when the cell is exposed to different climate conditions. A literature review was conducted to systematically investigate and assess the overall effect of heat stress and DNA damage following heat exposure. In this study, electronic datab...

Toluene is a single-ring aromatic, which is widely used in various industrial processes. Regarding to harmful effects to human, the aim of this study was removal of toluene from the airflow using industrial-scale low-pressure two-phase bioscrubber with cutting oil. The design of the bioscrubber of the present study consisted of two parts of the ads...

Titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2) is used abundantly in various industrial products and novel medical therapies. In addition, the impact of climate change on the health and safety will undoubtedly increase in the future. However, the effects of exposure to these nanoparticles and heat stress on hippocampal DNA damage and apoptosis remain unclear. This s...

Evaluation of the performance of these products is mainly based on their efficiency in numerical removal of particles in the range of different sizes. While the most important features of filters are the dust holding capacity, and the ability to remove the mass of particles with different densities, fewer studies have addressed this issue. Therefor...

Background: We aimed to investigate the efficiency of neat polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers and photocatalytic PAN/TiO2 nanofibers for removal of airborne microorganisms. Methods: Nanofibers were fabricated from 16 wt% of PAN dissolved in dimethyl formamide through the electrospinning technique. The efficiency of media for removal of Staphylococ...

Mercury has a toxic effect on humans and causes many diseases and dysfunction in human organs such as the central nervous system (CNS) and kidneys. So, mercury must be removed from air by different adsorbents. In this study, a novel adsorbent based on the nanoparticles of the palladium (PdNPs) embedded on the mesoporous silica nanostructure (NPd@MS...

The present study aims to investigate the effects of using the supplementation of vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acids on reproductive indices among workers in an automobile parts manufacturing plant. The effect of exposure to electromagnetic fields on certain sex hormones and sperm parameters will also be assessed. The participants were deployed into...

Introduction: Volatile organic compounds are the most common pollutants in the air, and among them, toluene is the most common form, which is toxic resulting in liver and kidneys damages. Regarding the fact that this compound is widely used in various chemical industries, implementing an efficient method for controlling its concentration is of grea...

Background The thermal strain can be measured using subjective methods without the use of sensitive equipment. The purpose of the present study was the development and validation of an observational - perceptual heat strain risk assessment (OPHSRA) method. Methods This cross-sectional study, in 2019, was performed. At first, an observational-perce...

Introduction: The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is still widely applied as a preliminary tool for evaluating the heat stress. This index faces some limitations not considered yet. This systematic review was conducted aiming at highlighting some limitations for development of the WBGT index. Method: The present study was organized using more ex...

Introduction: Toluene is considered as a group of chemical contaminants, causing problems for people’s health. Due to the high rate of evaporation and rapid emission in the surrounding environment, it leads to the exposure of many employees and people at risk and, subsequently, its irreparable effects on their health in different jobs. Therefore, i...

This paper presents the sound absorption performance of natural fiber composites developed from chrome shave (CS) and coffee silver skin (CSS). Twelve test samples of thickness 30 mm and 50 mm were fabricated with different fiber sizes and fiber ratios and by maintaining the density of the samples by 150 kg/m³. Normal incidence sound absorption coe...

Background: The present study aimed to assess the effects of the supplementation consumption of vitamin E and Omega 3 fatty acid on the oxidative stress parameters among workers exposed to high levels of noise in an automobile parts manufacturing plant. Moreover, the effects of the exposure to noise on SOD, total oxidative stress (TAC) and MDA will...

The present study investigated the relationship between occupational exposure to noise and whole-body vibration (WBV) with the levels of sex hormones in an automobile parts manufacturing plant. The level of workers' exposure (n = 162) to each of the mentioned stressors was measured through standard methods, and the time-weighted average of exposure...

The aim of the present study was biodegradation of toluene using a two-phase low-pressure bioscrubber with silicon oil as organic phase. The bioscrubber designed in this study consisted of two parts, the adsorption column and the bioreactor. In order to increase the efficiency of the scrubber, silicone oil was added as organic phases in concentrati...

Background: A hand-held portable direct-reading monitor, including photoionization detector (PID) is renowned for its good sensitivity, considerable dynamic range, and nondestructive vapor detection ability in comparison to the tardy response of the PID in gas chromatography (GC), which its application has been restricted. In this study, the perfor...

The aim of the present study is to fabricate neat nanofibers and hybrid ones containing metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and assess and compare their performance to remove of bioaerosols from air stream. Moreover, the antibacterial properties of neat and hybrid nanofibers have been investigated. According to the findings, both neat and hybrid media h...

Background and purpose: The skin, as the largest organ in the human body, can be exposed to many harmful factors in the workplace. One of these harmful factors is ultraviolet radiation (UV). Exposure to UV in outdoor environments can be 2 to 9 times higher than that of indoor workplaces. Exposure to this agent is contributed to pigmentation, erythe...

Background Styrene is one of the aromatic compounds used in acetonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) producing petrochemicals, which has an impact on health of workers. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the health risks of Styrene emitted from the Petrochemical Industry in Iran. Methods Air samples were collected based on NIOSH 1501 method. Th...

The presence of hazardous agents in workplaces has raised concerns regarding their possible impacts on male reproductive system. The present study investigated the individual and combined effects of exposure to heat stress and electromagnetic fields with low-frequency characteristics on the levels of sex hormones in two foundry sections (Aluminum a...

Background and Objective: Acrylonitrile is a potential carcinogen for humans and exposure to its vapors can have a variety of adverse effects on employees in the petrochemical industry. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the level of exposure and assess the quantitative health risk of exposure to acrylonitrile vapors in the exp...

Introduction: Styrene (C₆H₅CH=CH₂) is known as one of the volatile organic substances produced or used in petrochemical industries. Exposure to this chemical compound can thus lead to respiratory diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate occupational exposure to styrene vapor and to determine the risks of its health consequences in petroche...

Objectives: Over the last decades, antineoplastic drugs have resulted in concerns about health care and pharmacy because of the increased incidence of neoplasm due to occupational exposure. Therefore, there is a need for accurate and valid methods to detect and evaluate the trace amount of these drugs in occupational assessment programs. In this st...

Introduction: Styrene is one of the volatile organic materials produced or used in petrochemical industries. Exposure to respiratory disorders and diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the occupational exposure to styrene vapours and to determine the risk level of its health effects by the quantitative method in the staff of the petroch...

In the present paper, micro-mesoporous Fe-MIL-101/OAC composite using in situ incorporation of Fe-MIL-101 into oxidized activated carbon was synthesized and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, and BET techniques. The adsorption performances of toluene onto adsorbents in the gas phase were studied using a laboratory-scale dynamic adsorption syste...

1,3-Butadiene is classified as carcinogenic to humans by inhalation. This study aimed to assess cancer and non-cancer risk following occupational exposure to 1,3-butadiene. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a petrochemical plant producing acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer in Iran. Occupational exposure to 1,3-butadiene was measure...

Background Need to a simple, available, accurate, comprehensive, and valid indicator is felt to assess thermal effects. Therefore, the present study was aimed to develop and validate the environmental heat strain risk assessment (EHSRA) index using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on empirical relations. Methods This cross-sectional study...

The work presented here describes the synthesis of Cu-BDC MOF (BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) based on oxidized activated carbon (microporous [email protected] composite) using anin situmethod. The adsorbents (oxidized activated carbon (OAC), Cu-BDC and microporous [email protected] composite) were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDS and BET tech...

Introduction: 1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogenic compound that can be emitted to the atmosphere from several sources like petrochemical industry. One way to determine the level of carcinogenic and health effects of respiratory exposure to pollutants in the workplace is to use risk assessment methods. The aim of this study was to comparative assessment...

The exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can contribute to pigmentation, erythemas, early aging, and skin cancer. The purpose of this paper was to fabricate the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers associated with the ultraviolet protection property using various concentrations of MWCNT and TiO 2 nano-particles. The nanofibers were fabricated by t...

The article's abstract is no available.

Commercial activated carbon of coconut shell has been oxidized with nitric acid, and their oxygen surface complexes have been characterized by classical titration following Boehm’s method and by FTIR. The surface areas of both the original and oxidized activated carbon were obtained 814 m² g⁻¹ and 626 m² g⁻¹ with an average micropore volume of 1.67...

The occupational settings present high risk in terms of exposure and spreading of the Corona Virus‑2019 (COVID19) due to the gathering of many individuals. Although still uncertainty remains around COVID-19 and it is early to have conclusion on its prevention and control, different policies have been promoted by international organizations and heal...

Background: The present study investigated the effects of exposure to noise and whole body vibration (WBV) on the levels of sex hormones in an automobile parts manufacturing plant. Methods: The level of workers' exposure (n=162) to each of the mentioned stressors, was measured through standard methods and for each person the time-weighted average (...

Background and purpose: Some skin injuries are caused by occupational skin exposures that are resulted from production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress (ROS). Thus, protecting the skin is a key issue. Recently, several surveys have introduced novel alternatives such as nanofibers for skin protection. In this research, Poly (ε-caprola...

The present study was aimed to investigate the applicability of the model presented by Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) to determine the WBGT index recommended by the ISO in outdoor workplaces. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 12 construction materials mines in three districts of Tehran Province, Iran with different climatic cond...

Background This ecological study aims to model the trend of changes in exposure of outdoor workers to heat stress in outdoors in the coming decades with the use of the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), Hadley Coupled Atmosphere- Ocean General Circulation Model, version 3 (HADCM3), and Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) in Teh...

Due to the special properties of electrospun nanofibers such as high surface area and porosity, ease of surface functionalization, low pressure drop, suitable mechanical strength, their application in the fabrication of air purifying filtration media has increased dramatically in the recent years. The release of nanomaterials from electrospun nanof...

Context: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic state as the coronavirus spread across the world. Personal protective equipment (PPE) has become a critical subject during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is necessary to prevent coronavirus transmission to healthcare workers (HCWs) as providing care. They are at high risk of exposure to co...

This study aimed to evaluate pulmonary function among workers exposed to 1,3-butadiene and was carried out in a petrochemical industry in Iran. The study participants consisted of fifty male workers with current respiratory exposure to 1,3-butadiene and fifty non-exposed workers as the control group. Exposure to 1,3-butadiene was measured according...

Background:activity in hot environments is among the most common physical dangers in work environments that not only creates diseases resultant from heat which influences on staff’s health but also increases job injuries and accidents. Job injuries, diseases, and reduction in workers' efficiency in exposure to heat stress have caused increasing anx...

Biomanipulation is reliable method for treating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in polluted air. The performances of two biofilters in the removal of toluene vapors from air stream were compared. Two identical biofilters designed in parallel configuration were operated in lab-scale for 20 days; one of them was filled by sterilized media (compost...

Biomanipulation is reliable method for treating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in polluted air. The performances of two biofilters in the removal of toluene vapors from air stream were compared. Two identical biofilters designed in parallel configuration were operated in lab-scale for 20 days; one of them was filled by sterilized media (compost...

With increasing concerns about industrial gas contaminants and the growing demand for durable and sustainable technologies, attentions have been gradually shifted to biological air pollution controls. The ability of Pseudomonas putida PTCC 1694 (bacteria) and Pleurotus ostreatus IRAN 1781C (fungus) to treat contaminated gas stream with toluene and...

Background The incidence of neoplasm has significantly increased around the world over the last decades, resulting in use of anti-neoplastic drugs and the potential for occupational exposure to these drugs. One of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs for treatment of malignancies is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Objectives In this study, in orde...

Introduction: Measurement of pesticides in biological matrices is become a serious challenge for researchers due to their very low concentration in different matrices. The aim of this study was to develop a new sample preparation method with high accuracy and validity and short retention time for determination of diazinon. Material and Method: Disp...

Introduction: Many studies, especially in recent years, have evaluated and controlled the occupational heat stress in Iran using environmental indices. However, so far, no comprehensive study has been conducted to review and classify these studies. Therefore, this study aimed to review and investigate the occupational studies performed by environme...

Background and purpose: Cytotoxic drugs are a group of chemicals that raise concerns over the health of healthcare professionals. Therefore, accurate methods are needed to investigate the traces of these drugs. This study was done to fabricate and optimize molecularly imprinted membrane as a specific absorbent in assessment of occupational exposure...

Some occupational skin exposures lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The occupational exposure of workers to ROS has been found to be associated with an increased risk of developing skin injuries; therefore, it is essential to protect skin against ROS formation. Recently, some studies have been conducted on introducing better al...

Background: Measurement of pesticides in biological matrices is become a serious challenge for researches because of their very low concentration in different matrices. The aim of this study was to develop a new sample preparation method with high accuracy and validity, simplicity and short retention time for determination of malathion. Methods:...

Background and aims: The circadian rhythm is one the most important biological rhythms that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats every 24 hours roughly. This 24-hour cycle includes physiological and behavioral rhythms like sleep cycle. Any disruptions in the body’s natural rhythms can cause many problems, such as drowsiness, sleep deprivation...

Background: Selecting an effective sample preparation method to measure target pesticides in biological matrices is a serious challenge for researchers. This study aimed to optimize the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique to obtain a simple, valid, and fast method with high efficiency to detect chlorpyrifos in urine samples....

Background and Objective Silica dust is present in almost all mining operations and can cause various health problems such as silicosis in workers. The present study aimed to determine the total and respirable dust levels and the crystalline silica content of the soil in the breathing zone of workers in Iranian mines. Methods This cross-sectional...

Background and Aim: Electrospun nanofibers can be used to produce filter media in personal protective equipment for the military. The present study aimed to optimize the electrospinning process used to create polyurethane nanofiber substrates and compare the optimum substrate filtration performance with a typical commercial substrate used in the st...

Background and Objectives Occupational exposure to silica dust can lead to biochemical damage. Malondialdehyde (MDA) can be considered as a primary marker for measuring the level of oxidative stress in a living organism. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the level of MDA in blood and urine of mice exposed to silica dust. Material and M...

ISO / TR 18637: 2016, Nanotechnologies — Overview of available frameworks for the development of occupational exposure limits and bands for nano-objects and their aggregates and agglomerates (NOAAs)

ISO / TS12901-2:2014, Nanotechnologies — Occupational risk management applied to engineered nanomaterials — Part 2: Use of the control banding approach

A fast and easy surfactant-assisted dispersive micro-solid phase extraction method coupled with ultrasonic power was used for the simultaneous preconcentration and determination of low levels of hippuric and methyl hippuric acid in human urine samples. In the first step, magnetic nanoparticles was coated by titanium oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4/TiO2...

Introduction: Nowadays, millions of people are exposed to the dusts in their workplaces. Occupational exposure to dusts is considered as one of the most common and serious occupational hazards to workers’ health. The purpose of this literature review was to review the literature related to the occupational exposure to dusts in Iran published over t...